


It's a Fine Line Between

by jixie



Category: Rockman | Mega Man Classic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Awkward Crush, Comedy, Drama, Emotional Incompetence, Enemies to It's Complicated, Feels, Fluff, Getting Together, Hanahaki Disease, It's Not a Slow Burn in an Under 2K Story, M/M, One Shot Collection, Pre-Relationship, Prompt Fill, enemies to frenemies, frankenstein-esque AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24095251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jixie/pseuds/jixie
Summary: This is a collection of short oneshots exploring that fine line between love and hate. Stories ranging from comedy to tragedy, household appliances going berserk to human AU slice-of-life, frenemies to degrees of ship. Fighting with each other and by each other's side, awkward crushes and holding hands for the first time. BassRock week prompt fills.
Relationships: Forte | Bass/Rockman | Mega Man
Comments: 3
Kudos: 38





	1. Camaraderie (if You Can Call it That)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reddit 25 Minute Challenge Prompt: _"I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mega Man © Capcom
> 
> Each of these entries are stand alone / self-contained stories.
> 
> None of them are related to my other Mega Man fanfics, but if you like these you will probably enjoy my series "[Running in Second Gear](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1361194)". (Each fic is self-contained, so you can pick up anywhere.)
> 
> Since my first entry for BassRock week is a playlist, I figured I'd kick this off with an older prompt fill from Reddit, which just so happens to be thematically on point.

“So… what? Did he expect King to destroy me, or for me to destroy King?”

“I don’t know, it sounds like Wily saw it as a win-win either way.” Mega Man was kind of joking, but there was the ring of truth to his words.

He regretted it when he saw Bass sag in dismay, clearly having thought the same thing.

Hesitant, Mega Man reached out, placing a comforting hand on the other robot’s arm. The sad thing was, he’d wanted very badly to finally bury the hatchet and find some common ground that they could build on. He just never actually thought it would happen. And yet, here they were, not exactly bonding, but…

For a split second Bass seemed to brighten, appreciating the gesture, and Mega Man couldn’t help but feel like maybe, _just maybe_ , this was the start of a beautiful fr—

Then he got a face full of plasma from Bass’s cannon and stumbled backwards, sputtering as he clasped a hand to his stinging cheek. “Hey, jerk! I was just trying to be nice!”

“Loser,” Bass replied.

* * *

Shadow Mega Man was shuddering in his arms, leaking hydraulic fluid and coolant and sparks of raw energy flickering from the tears in his hull.

In spite of everything— the vicious fights, the horrific confession— Mega Man still felt bad for him. He couldn’t help it. In some way, in some sick, twisted way, he looked at Shadow Mega Man and saw himself. The idea that he could, that any version of him could, ever, ever be pushed to do the things this poor creature had done…

Well…

“We can, we can still— we can help you…” he found himself saying. And his evil counterpart only smirked as he shook his head. It was too late anyway.

Even if it wasn’t. He didn’t _want_ to be saved, that’s why he’d come here, to this alternate past— to put an end to the madness.

“Don’t watch,” Bass said, charging a shot. As badly damaged as Shadow Mega Man was, it would only take one.

Mega Man didn’t need to be told twice. He looked away, bracing himself, and felt the violent jerk as the cannon shot landed and then it was done. It was over. He hunched forward, hiding his face in his hand, and wished he could cry.

Then, for one brief moment, Bass touched his shoulder. An act of sympathy that was so surprising Mega Man nearly startled. But just to make sure there was no misunderstanding, Bass kicked him afterwards.

“Agh! Why are you so mean!”

“Why are you such a dork?”

* * *

Blade Man had tagged him pretty bad, and Bass barely made it back to Dr. Light’s lab in one piece.

He glared at Mega Man when he returned with the missing piece for Dr. Wily’s equipment. Once again circumstances had forced them to work together, and Mega Man _thought_ things were going well, but when he saw the dirty look Bass gave him, he started to second-guess that.

Afterwards, Dr. Light had discreetly called him on the com, letting him know that Bass had made some comment about Dr. Wily, and that it wasn’t Mega Man he was upset about…

…but rather the fact that he’d failed in Wily’s eyes.

With that startling realization, Mega Man found himself trying to fall back, to act as a support once Bass was back in action. It worked, mostly. Together they finished off Commando Man.

“Awesome!” Grinning, Mega Man held up his hand for a high-five.

Bass smiled and moved towards him, hand up, and for a brief moment it looked like he was actually going to give a high-five… but at the last second, he shifted and punched Mega Man in the face.

“Oh come _on!_ What’s wrong with you!?”

“Allergic to nerds,” Bass replied with a smirk.

* * *

“Remember that time you pushed me over the ledge towards a pit of lava?”

“Are you kidding? I only did it because _you_ were charging to shove _me_ over the ledge!”

He expected an argument, but instead Bass started chuckling.

“Yeah, I was.”

“Ugh!”

Proto Man burst into laughter. “Aww,” he teased. “It’s so nice to see what good friends you two have become.”

“Shaddup,” Bass replied, and Mega Man shook his head as he rolled his eyes.

But this time when Bass punched him, it was playful.

The start of a beautiful friendship, indeed…


	2. The Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Human AU, slice-of-life  
> BassRock week: _May 13 - Pillows_

How, exactly, Blues managed to convince Bass to spend the night, Rock couldn't even begin to guess. But whether it was the social pressure from a middle-schooler, or bribery, or heck, even blackmail… it was _still_ a miracle that it even worked in the first place.

And the evening had been…

…well it kinda stank.

Bass complained about everything. _Everything._ From their house ("It smells funny.") to their food ("Ugh, your grandpa is an even worse cook than Wily is.") to their internet ("Sooooo slow!"). When Treble— because of course he'd brought Treble— and Rush's roughhousing turned into a minor fight, he complained that Rush was too much of a wimp. When Dr. Light had asked how his family was doing, he rudely brushed him off. When he found out there was a nine o'clock TV-and-electronics curfew, the cries went up to the heavens.

"What do you idiots even _do?_ "

"Read, usually," Rock replied. "Or… I dunno, color, play Magic the Gathering, or build Legos…"

"'Build Legos'," Bass repeated dryly. "Rocco, you're the lamest kid I ever met."

"Don't— it's 'Rock', everyone calls me 'Rock', and you know that." There was a tense pause. " _Angel._ "

In a flash Bass was on him, holding him down and swinging a looping punch with his free hand. His fist seemed to move in slow motion as Rock watched, frozen in surprise, feeling the force behind the strike before it even connected.

…except it never did. Neither of them had seen Blues come into the room, but all of the sudden he was there, hauling Bass away from his younger brother. "That's enough." Although Blues and Rock had a good relationship, they were still brothers, which meant they still wrestled and fought over everything. But like any good big brother, Blues had a zero-tolerance policy when it came to anyone else picking on his younger siblings.

Only Bass was just getting started. He writhed and tried to squirm from Blues' grasp, and when that failed, started screaming and kicking. While chronic illness left the eldest Light weaker than Rock or his quote-friend-unquote, Blues had a size advantage over them. He also knew how to fight smarter, and used Bass' own momentum to fling him onto the bed— only for Bass to bounce and fall off on the other side, landing with a surprised yelp.

Furious, he started climbing up back onto the bed, stopping in confusion when Blues grabbed a pillow and held it out to him.

"Here, if you must. House rules: you can only hit each other using a pillow."

"House rules?" Rock was perplexed. There was no such regulation in effect.

Blues turned enough to give him a quick wink.

With one knee planted on the edge of the bed, Bass glared at the pillow with intense loathing and said nothing.

"Hit him for real and I'll kick your butt into next week," Blues continued. "I don't care if you are a guest."

"I thought you were supposed to be my friend!"

"I am, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you beat up my little brother."

"You're only twelve! It's just two years difference!" Rock said with a groan.

"I'm in middle school," replied Blues defensively. "I'm way more mature than you kids are."

For a second it seemed like they were going to start fighting themselves, and Bass watched in confusion. Then he scowled and snatched the pillow from Blues, slid across the bed, and walloped Rock as hard as he possibly could with it.

But.

It was a pillow. It made a pretty satisfying ' _whump_ ' sound but it didn't really hurt.

Breaking into a grin, Rock pushed past them in order to grab the other pillow from off his bed, and gave Bass a good whack upside the head— again, failing to cause any injury.

Within moments they were having an honest-to-god pillow fight… and very obviously having a blast, laughing and bouncing off the walls. A smug expression crept across Blues' face as he snuck out of the room. The battle dragged on for a while, and at one point even spilled out into the hallway, but eventually things quieted down and they settled in for the night.

"You up?"

Rock startled. He must have dozed off. "'M now," he mumbled, rubbing his right eye.

Unable to fall asleep in a strange place, Bass was still wide awake, despite how tired he was. He started talking, carrying on a one-sided, meandering conversation about the latest round of standardized testing, their classmates, the cute substitute teacher…

…but then moved onto deeper subjects. Wily, and how difficult he was to get along with. How the old man's house-arrest made everything worse for both of them. How hard it had been to adjust, even after the last few years, and right when he finally started to feel like this was home— Zero showed up and threw everything into chaos.

"It's so stupid. This whole time he didn't even know about that loser or his dumb dad. And then Zero comes in like— ugh." Bass paused, scowling, then sat up. "Y'know what Wily told me? We're not even related, like by blood. 'It's only paperwork, that's all it is.' He used to, he used to say that— he could go get DNA tested and prove it and then I wouldn't be his problem anymore."

Completely awake now, the normally talkative Rock was hesitant, unsure what to say. "…Zero's not there forever, right?" he finally asked. "It's just a, uh, temporary thing?"

"Yeah."

There was an uneasy silence, and Rock watched as Bass glared at the wall with laser focus. Then he noticed Rock's unfaltering gaze. One hand flew up, attempting to hide some of the massive port-wine stain that made a sweeping arc across his cheeks and eyes.

"Stop staring, jackass!"

Even when talking about Wily, he had radiated _anger_ or indignation, but now wore a pained look. He was embarrassed— ashamed, really.

Rock felt a lump in his throat, both distressed by seeing this side of Bass, and the sudden realization why the other kid always lashed out at everyone. _Hurt them before they can hurt you._ Even worse was the awkwardness of this misunderstanding. He choked, starting to flush as he tried to explain himself.

"I wasn't— I'm not— ah, umm, I mean… I wasn't staring. A-anyway, I— I like it. Your face. I mean, your birthmark. It's really cute. Cool! It's cool."

For a moment Bass was skeptical, but then his expression quickly changed to bewilderment. Then disgust. Then embarrassment— although this time he was flustered, not ashamed. He reached back, grabbed the pillow, and shoved it in Rock's face.

Then punched it with all his might.

" _UUUUAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_ "

There was a _thump_ followed by heavy footsteps as Blues jumped out of bed and raced over to the next room, followed by the sound of Dr. Light hurrying over. The door flung open so hard it bounced against the wall, and Blues stood in the doorway, his fury building as Rock wailed loudly.

"What do you THINK YOU'RE—!?"

"Hey! No fair!" Bass held up his hands. "I used the pillow to hit him, like you said!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Port-wine stain refers to a specific type of birthmark. [Examples.](https://quietlydiabolic.tumblr.com/private/617664987740110848/tumblr_3RCZGfiylNH6ail0f)
> 
> I can't believe I wrote a mundane human AU. I don't even know who I am anymore. (And I definitely don't have a bunch of head canons for this AU that I'm dying for any excuse to share. Nope. 😇)


	3. His Type

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BassRock week: _May 14 - Jealousy_

She glides into their lives on wheeled boots, not unlike Top Man's.

 _Top Man's._ Arguably one of Wily's worst designs.

To say that Bass is disgusted is an understatement. If he'd met Chaotique separately, before hearing about her from Mega Man, he might have liked her. As it was, he hates everything about her: her stupid skate shoes, her gimmick (weren't there enough _speedsters_ already?), her turquoise lips (gaudy— as if his own war paint wasn't), her mischievous grin and playful teasing (so annoying)…

…basically, everything Mega Man likes about her.

It's poor, long-suffering Proto Man that has to put up with Bass' endless tirades.

"'Kay-Kay'? What kind of jerk goes around calling themself ' _Kay-Kay_ '? Does she have any idea how stupid she sounds?"

"You know, I could say something here about people who live in glass houses…"

Bass blinks in confusion. "Just what are you trying to get at?"

"That your name is 'Bass'."

"So!? There's nothing wrong with my name!"

"I didn't say there was. It's just, you know, people who read it think it's 'bass' like the fish, and people who hear it think it's 'base' like a fort—"

"Choose your next words carefully," he warns, forming an arm cannon.

Unperturbed, Proto Man smirks and playfully shoves him. "Or what?" He pauses for a moment. "Bass, what do you even care about Chaotique? She's a third party non-combat Robot Master."

Although his scowl is intense, Bass is silent. He doesn't have a reply.

"It wouldn't happen to be because Rock is completely smitten?"

"Don't be ridiculous! I couldn't care less— ugh! I just— I just don't get it, that's all. What's he even see in her?"

"Oh, I don't know. She's brash, irreverent, a showoff, a villain but hero-curious and looking to experiment. She tests him. She pushes him." He laughs. "You know. Rock's _type_."

Bass looks away, irate. "'Type'? I don't know what that's supposed to mean."

"It means—" Proto Man claps a hand on Bass' shoulder. "It means… ah, I'll explain it when you're older." Shrugging him off, Bass takes a swing, but Proto Man dodges the punch. "It means you don't have to be jealous, just proactive."

"I'm not jealous! Gah!"

But Proto Man just laughs again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chaotique is the best thing to come out of Fully Charged. I would die for her. Also, I stole the whole bit about Rock's types from one of my unposted fics (in case I ever do get to finishing it…)


	4. Attack of the Killer Robotos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BassRock week: _May 15 - Zombie_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Sura for suggestions and help brainstorming.

There was always a sort of order amidst the chaos. For all the trouble and destruction Dr. Wily caused, he also had some sort of compulsion to do things a certain way, using certain patterns. Set zones. Defined attacks. Eight Robot Masters. The winding path through Skull Fortress.

Order amid chaos.

Which is what made this so weird.

It was… unpredictable. Haphazard. _Disorderly._ Mega Man knew Wily's patterns and habits like the back of his hand, but he never truly appreciated just how predictable the mad scientist was until now, when everything was— well— the best way to describe it was 'on fire'. Mostly on account of all the fires.

They had been waiting to hear from Wily, either bragging about his latest plot, or begging and simpering about how he'd lost control over it, but so far it had been radio silence. Mega Man did his best to stop the robots running amok and rescue civilians and put out fires, both literally and figuratively.

The last thing he needed was Bass showing up to brawl. He never knew if Bass was going to be on their side or in Wily's corner— it was 50/50— and their relationship was pretty nebulous, so Mega Man wasn't sure where he stood with Bass at any given time. 

Lucky for him, Bass wordlessly went after the berserker robots instead of hassling Mega Man.

They fought separately for a while, until Bass shot down a Potton delivery drone that was in Mega Man's blindspot. He used that as an opening. "Thanks! Let me guess… Dr. Wily's latest scheme got out of hand?"

"Yeah."

"Another virus?"

Roboenza had caused advanced robots to go wild, while less complex ones simply ceased functioning. This time, everything had come to life, from smart blenders to self-driving vehicles (traditional _and_ flying) to robotic vacuum cleaners.

"Nah." Bass hesitated, because it would help if Mega Man actually knew what was going on. But at the same time, Wily was still convinced he could regain control of the situation, in which case it was better if he left his rival in the dark.

He was still on the fence when Mega Man's face scrunched up in amusement, clapping a hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh and failing miserably. "Oh my goodness, is that… is that a _commode?_ "

Blinking in surprise, Bass glanced over his shoulder, then slowly turned around. Shambling down the road was, in fact, a computerized auto-toilet.

"Oh for cryin' out loud!" Built for consumer use, a single shot was all that was needed to dispatch it, but Bass unleashed a series of rapid fire shots until the hapless appliance was reduced to scrap. " _Does EVERYTHING need to be a robot?_ Sheesh!"

* * *

Everything being a robot was the problem, really. They fought their way through hordes of air conditioners units, portable terminals, coffee makers, automated tellers, electric bikes, water efficient washing machines…

…and robo-pets, unfortunately. Bass was not-so-secretly enjoying the mayhem, but even he seemed ashamed of having to put down the robotic beasts.

He decided not to fill Mega Man in on the details. It wasn't a virus. It was a remote-control satellite, only somehow Wily had bungled the command codes. Instead of making the world's machinery his loyal subjects, it had turned them into mindless attacking zombies.

But hours dragged on and it was obvious Wily hadn't got a handle on the situation. Even more worryingly, he hadn't heard from him since leaving the fortress.

While they fought to restore order, Dr. Light scrambled to figure out what was going on and how to fix it, Roll and Auto offered support, and Proto Man…

Proto Man showed up, having been off doing his own secretive machinations, tossed energy tanks to the other two, and while they refueled, took a moment to appraise the situation. "Why don't you take this fight to Dr. Wily?"

"I don't think Dr. Wily's in control," Mega Man replied, glancing at Bass. "I'm not sure stopping him will stop _this_ ," he gestured at the scene of destruction that lay before them.

"Couldn't hurt to try." The tone in Proto Man's voice suggested he knew more than he was letting on.

Chewing at his lip, Mega Man shot Bass another look. "What do you think?"

If nothing else, they could probably force Wily to shut off the satellite signal. On the one hand: mayhem. Bass didn't exactly _want_ to stop. On the other hand: the whole thing was pretty ridiculous, there was no end in sight, and it was weird that Wily hadn't been in touch.

"Fine."

With that Bass teleported, and Mega Man facepalmed. "Darn it, you know I can't just beam directly into Dr. Wily's fort!"

"Hey, listen." Proto Man threw an arm across his back. "I'm sure Bass never mentioned anything, but this whole disaster ruined our plans."

"What? What plans?" He didn't like the sound of this. Particularly the 'our' part of it.

"We were going to catch a movie—"

"A movie? 'We'? As in… the two of you? A movie?" Mega Man made no attempt to hide his disappointment. "Like a— like a date?"

His brother laughed. "No. Like a 'trying to teach that idiot normal life skills'. It was going to be a group outing."

"Wh— a group— what group?" He was both relieved and increasingly confused. He'd never met any of Blues' friends. Had Bass? Did they have mutual acquaintances?

"Rock," Proto Man said firmly, turning so that they were face-to-face, planting both hands on Mega Man's shoulders. " _Rock_." He sounded tired. "Invite. Him. To. The. Movies."

There was an unbelievably awkward pause, and Mega Man gulped loudly.

"O-oh. Right."

* * *

Mega Man was surprised to find Bass loitering outside the fort. Something was wrong— Bass couldn't teleport inside either.

So they fought their way in the old fashioned way. The badniks inside were just as erratic and violent as the household appliances had been. Not knowing the cause of all this, Mega Man started joking around, making wild, increasingly preposterous guesses for what hare-brained plot Wily had this time.

"Is he trying to scare the public by turning their dishwashers and street sweepers against them, terrorizing them into surrendering and begging for mercy?"

"No."

"Let's see… he wanted to ruin Dr. Light's day because he won the Aperture Scientific Achievement award last week, and because he's a super-villain Dr. Wily didn't even qualify."

"No."

"This is an elaborate cover while he builds a third King, even though the last time—"

"Don't mention that name around me."

"Ummm… he's trying to collapse the economy, to start up a corporate conglomerate monopoly for all consumer gadgets?"

Bass groaned. "Please stop talking."

"He just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

" _No._ "

One of the weirdest things about all this was the complete and utter lack of Robot Masters. They got through the maze pretty quickly and found the massive arena where, under normal circumstances, Wily would attack with a massive war machine.

It was startlingly empty.

"Where _is_ he?"

Mega Man did a double take. "You don't know?"

Gesturing for him to follow, Bass made his way deeper into the fortress. If Wily wasn't around, what was the point of trying to keep his plans secret? He guided Mega Man to one of the main control rooms, explaining the whole satellite hacking scheme along the way. Calling up Roll, Mega Man used the nearest terminal to create a network link that would allow Dr. Light to download everything he needed directly from Wily's computers.

They waited in silence, Mega Man not willing to leave until Dr. Light was good to go, and Bass unwilling to leave his rival unattended in the fortress.

"Sooooo," Mega Man said, trying to sound casual. "Did you catch the latest Revengers movie?"

"Nope." He then mumbled something about how he was _supposed to_ , and scuffed his foot on the floor in frustration.

Weaving his fingers together, Mega Man offered a small, hopeful grin. "I haven't had a chance to see it yet, either. M-maybe after things are wrapped up here, we could go check it out…?"

It earned a derisive snort, but then Bass shrugged. "Sure, whatever. I don't care."

"Cool." Trying to hide the feeling of glee, he clapped his hands behind his head. "I wonder how they're going to resolve the whole Eternity Jewels story. It's been so hard avoiding spoilers!"

They were in the midst of debating if Atoman's screen adaption was better than the comic version when Roll called in with the all-clear.

"I'm going to go back and help Proto Man handle the zombie-bots until Dr. Light can shut off the satellite." Mega Man hesitated. "Did you want to…?"

"Nah, I gotta find out where Wily got to."

They went their separate ways, but in the middle of a surprisingly intense battle with a commercial impingement oven— able to launch projectiles from its conveyor belt with incredible speed— Mega Man received a text with a set of coordinates.

Catching his look, Proto Man nodded in understanding. "Go, I have this."

They led him to the grounds outside of Skull Fortress, where a desperate, shrieking Dr. Wily clung halfway up a tree, feet scrambling against the trunk, surrounded by three small robotic lawn mower units.

Bass stood in the distance, arms crossed, wicked grin on his face. "Hey," he said as Mega Man approached. "You don't think Dr. Light could shut down the signal to everyone _except_ these guys, could he?"

"Maybe…"

Dr. Wily switched tactics from berating and cursing Bass to pleading with Mega Man.

"We really should help him."

Tilting his head, Bass tapped his chin and pretended to be lost in thought. "I dunno, I think he could use another half an hour up there."

Mega Man laughed. He should help Dr. Wily and take him to jail, he really should.

"…I think I'm going to let you two work this out," he said finally. "Uh, Leitersburg Cinema, 7:30?"

Glancing at him out of the corner of his eyes, Bass shrugged. "Assuming the projectors didn't go nuts, too."

"Oh, shoot!" Mega Man hid his face in his hands. "You're probably right."

But with all the attacks Wily had done over the years, most businesses had contingencies and bounced back pretty quickly. "Think they'll be up and running again by next Thursday?"

"I guess?"

"Fine. It's a date."

He knew that Bass didn't mean a _date_ , rather that they had an agreed appointment…

…but he couldn't help wearing a stupid, goofy grin for the rest of the day.


	5. The Quick and the Undead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frankenstein/Undead Golem AU  
> BassRock week: _May 15 - Zombie_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right, two entries for the same prompt! This non-shippy fanfic of a fanfic is an alternate timeline for MiggyBird's "[Rock on the Scorching Sand](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21731512)", a post-apocalyptic Frankenstein monster/corpse golem AU, which is a really rad story you should check out. It's not finished, but I have the feeling that nobody will get out out of that story alive, so this is a fantasy happy ending.

"You've had a good run, but it's time to face the music."

Or at least, that's what Rock was pretty sure Bass was trying to say. Mostly it was a sort of unintelligible mumbling. Drawing his pistol as he spoke, he aimed with an unsteady hand, and—

_click. click. click._

Rock slowly climbed to his feet, having thrown himself in front of Thomas to shield him, and helped the old man up. Glancing back at Bass, he shook his head in disbelief.

"How— how are you still—?" Rock could have sworn he'd put an end to him. No, he definitely had killed Bass. Even now, the other golem was in no shape to be talking, much less _walking_ , to say nothing of _trying to attack._ He honestly reminded Rock less of the skilled fighter he'd faced before, and more of the shuffling 'zombies' from the picture movies Otto had told him about. 

At the time, he'd been quietly offended by the comparison.

"How in Sam Hill are you functioning?" Thomas asked.

Sneering, Bass attempted to fire another round. _click. click. click._

The answer appeared to be 'grit', or a dogged, singular drive that superseded death itself.

Strolling over to him, Rock reached out, grabbed the barrel of his gun, and yanked it away. Bass looked confused. He glanced at his empty hand, then at Rock, then back at his hand. Made a fist. Took a swing. When Rock easily side-stepped the thrown punch, Bass stumbled from the momentum and face-planted on the ground.

* * *

They'd taken him back to the doctor's workshop, at first. There was no reasoning with Bass but they tried anyway, and Thomas even began some repairs. Somehow— no thanks to Otto, built like a bear and just as bright— Bass managed to escape.

He didn't go very far. Instead he proceeded to hang around, hounding Rock and generally making a nuisance of himself. Attacking whenever the opportunity arose.

Which was to say, whenever Rock was minding his own damn business.

"Rrrrrgh!"

Bass lunged from behind another building, but Rock still had enough time to set down the box he was carrying, turn, and clock Bass in the jaw. He went down hard, and Rock almost felt bad enough to help him back up.

"Stop. _Please._ " Silence. "Albert is dead," he explained for the hundredth time. "You no longer have a duty to follow his orders." His patient explanation went over as well as it did before: 

Not at all.

"Kill… you…!" Bass shouted from the ground, rolling over in an effort to get to his knees.

With a sigh, Rock looked around, found a broken fence beam, dragged it over and dropped it on top of Bass, pinning him to the ground. Half the reason he hadn't just finished him off (again) was because Albert _was_ gone, and as far as they could tell, that should have released him from his old orders. The other half was because, honestly, Bass wasn't bothering anyone else. He never even went after Thomas or Otto.

"There," Rock said, dusting off his hands. It ought to buy them a few days.

The only response from Bass was a howl of rage and indignation.

* * *

They didn't heal physically, but Bass seemed to return his senses as days turned to weeks.

Still, he was unrelenting.

Worse yet, he started fighting smarter, not harder.

Which is how they ended up in this mess— wrestling with each other as Bass tried to choke Rock out— which was physically impossible, it wasn't like he needed to breathe in the first place.

A dry chuckle stopped them both in their tracks. Rock glanced up at Blues and sighed. There was no point asking where he'd been, or why he'd chosen to return now. "Could you give me a hand?"

"Oh I think you can handle him on your own." He looked… amused. It left Rock with a strange feeling.

"You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?"

Holding his hands up Blues shrugged, neither confirming nor denying anything.

Bass growled and attempted to gouge Rock's eye with his thumb. Renewed by Blues' presence, Rock shoved Bass off of him, then trapped him in an arm hold. He struggled to keep his footing as Bass tried to jerk free.

"Well, thanks for nothing. He doesn't understand that Albert is gone—"

"Nnnnnuh uh!" He attempted to throw Rock, and failing that, dropped his weight backwards, sending them both to the ground in a heap. "Not… doin' this… for Doc," Bass said, his words barely coherent. "Kill you… for myself…!"

It was the first real response anyone had gotten from him since his return from the dead (so to speak).

"What?"

"You! You… ruined… _e'rythin'!_ "

That gave Rock a pause, because from Bass' perspective, it was absolutely true. Taking advantage of his hesitation, Bass landed two good punches to his face.

Rock grunted and shoved him away. "Quit that!" Then he sagged. "…that's… that's fair, I suppose. But I had no—"

"Revenge won't change what's past," Blues interrupted.

Bass shot him a dirty look. "N'one… asked you."

"All that you can do now is move forward. You don't have to keep fighting."

"If you— we could get you patched up if you weren't trying to kill me," said Rock.

"No. _Shhhhuddup!_ "

"Come on. Let us help you." Blues still wore an amused expression. "There's got to be something else you want from life."

At first Bass continued to seethe, but then faltered, a distant look creeping in his eyes.

"What is it?"

He scooted away from Rock, refusing to meet either of their gaze. "I…" Hesitant, he punched the ground, then started absently tearing at a patch of crabgrass. "It…"

There was a long, uneasy silence.

"Th-think… th' syst'm can… think it'll work… on dogs?"


	6. Precipitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BassRock week: _May 16 - Rain_

_i._

Slow and steady, each fat raindrop splattered against his armor like a single punctuation mark.

The storm had come on suddenly. It'd been a perfectly clear day— at least, it was when he'd reached Wily's fortress hours before. Normally he hated to leave once he was in. It wasn't like he could teleport back to where he had left off, and the longer he was away, the more annoying minions would find their way into the zones he'd already cleared. 

But Mega Man was happy to make an exception for this. 

"I don't understand," he said, casting a wary look at Duo.

The towering alien robot didn't so much as glance his way. Instead, he knelt besides Bass, his attention focused on the damaged Wily 'bot.

"I mean, he can teleport within the Skull Fortress, and we were already there, and Wily's in there somewhere, too…"

"Navigation system is shot," Duo said. If the coordinates or passkey were wrong, the forcefield would have kicked Bass right outside the barrier. His expression was stern, but there was an underlying thread of regret. "You are correct, he is infected."

"So, what do we do?"

His massive left hand curled into a fist, and Duo drew back his arm. "Prevent it from spreading."

"Wait!" Without thinking, Mega Man threw himself between Duo and Bass. " _Wait!_ You— you can't!"

Sagging, Duo shook his head. "It's not that I want to. This is what must be done. There is more at stake than any one of us—"

"Please. There's got to be some other way of clearing out the evil energy without… destroying its host."

For a moment the two stared each other down, silent but for the persistent rainfall, until Bass started twitching and groaning.

"Please," Mega Man repeated. 

Duo frowned.

"If what you said is true, he is a villain who willingly used evil energy in order to attack you. There is no reason to—"

"You just have to trust me, Duo. Please, I— I know… I mean, I don't know how I know, but _I know_ that he can change—"

With a sigh, he relented, holding up his hand in a 'stop' gesture. Then, reaching out, he took hold of Mega Man's arm and guided him out of the way. Opening a small panel in his gauntlet, he drew out a coaxial cable, and after a brief search opened Bass' access panel. Duo set up a one-to-one network connection, quietly commented that his kind could do this wirelessly, and set to work.

Mega Man watched, alternating between weaving his fingers together and rubbing his wrists. He tried not to start pacing, and tried harder not to worry, and especially tried not to think about how droplets of water had beaded up on Bass' armor, midnight black and glistening in the rain.

After a few minutes Duo finished and disconnected.

"An evil energy infection can never be fully erased. It will be up to him to continue fighting it." He gave Mega Man a curious look. "You love him."

"Wh-what? No. I mean… y-e— maybe? I— He pretended to be my friend, but…" Face flushed, he lowered his head. "I don't know. I felt a… I felt something. It could become that, some day, I guess…"

With a dismissive grunt, Duo got to his feet. Then, after a moment of hesitation, placed his massive left hand on Mega Man's head, his touch one of solidarity. "I've been there before, and I do not envy you. But I hope you are correct."

  
_ii._

The rain came down in a heavy downpour, an endless barrage of sharp, stinging raindrops.

It had been a few weeks, but Mega Man was still exhausted from his last conflict with Dr. Wily. It wasn't a physical exhaustion, of course, but an emotional one.

"Yo."

"Uagh!" Startled, Mega Man started pinwheeling his arms in an effort to keep from falling.

Standing by a scenic cliffside to contemplate life was Proto Man's shtick, and honestly, he should have left it to his brother. Sure, the valley below was stunningly beautiful, even in the rain. But Bass had just appeared out of nowhere, possibly— _likely_ — to fight him, and would've won without firing off a single shot because Mega Man nearly fell off the edge of a cliff.

Bass grabbed Mega Man's arm to steady him, then jerked him back away from the edge. "Idiot."

"If you're here for a fight, you're a little late."

"Tsk. What, for Wily? We're on the outs right now."

"Oh."

Crossing his arms, Bass glanced over at the valley. "Nice, but it's better when it's not raining. You picked a lousy day."

There was an uneasy silence.

"How'd you know to find me here?"

"I wasn't looking for you, stupid. You're not the only one your obnoxious brother drags out into the middle of nowhere to 'meditate' or whatever the heck he calls it."

"Oh. Right." Then he started putting two and two together. "…You're out here because— it's because of Wily, isn't it?"

Bass made a sound of disgust.

Then sat down, letting his legs hang off the cliff. "That scumbag tried to reprogram me."

"…Oh."

"Do you say anything else?"

"Of course I do, I just, um… I don't want to say the wrong thing."

Mega Man sat down next to him— but not too close.

"I want to say it didn't take, but actually? Wily didn't like the changes. So, I guess the good thing is he won't try that crap again."

"Sorry."

Leaning back on his palms, Bass kicked idly. "Yeah, well."

They drifted into silence, and Mega Man took a chance. A stupid chance, perhaps, but he wasn't sure when he'd get another shot. Shifting his weight and trying to look as casual as possible, he slid his hand over until his pinky brushed up against Bass' hand.

Nothing happened. There was no protest, but also no sign of approval. Bass seemed to ignore the gesture, which really was probably the best he could hope for.

But a few moments later, without comment or fanfare, Bass placed his hand over Mega Man's.

  
_iii._

It had been drizzling on and off all morning, leaving the air thick and hazy. The sun was out and it was humid, but still cool enough that it wasn't oppressive, just…

…soft. A dreamy mist that blanketed everything.

Rock actually hadn't expected any of this, but Blues had strolled into the lab, slyly hinting that he should head out to the ruins of the Gear Fortress. Then, when he had shifted in preparation to armor up, Blues had cut him off. 'No, go like you are now.'

As soon as he arrived it became obvious why. Rock could count on one hand the times he'd seen Bass dressed casually. It was hard enough for the Wily 'bot to let his guard down and go anywhere without armor. That went double for anytime Rock was around. Blues'd had much more luck there, and Rock would've been lying to himself if he said he wasn't a little bit envious.

He'd been out here for a while, judging by how damp his shirt was. Dark hair slicked back in contrast to Rock's perpetual messy helmet hair, or Blues' meticulously coiffed pompadour. The purple warpaint on his face trailed down his neck and arms, which Rock had seen before, but generally pushed out of his mind because otherwise he couldn't help but wonder just how far… well…

"What do you want?" Bass asked, irate.

"Nothing. Blues said you were here, so I came—"

"To hang out? Have some tea, share the latest gossip? I'm not your _friend_ , numbskull, and I don't need you hanging around."

Rock wilted slightly, gripping his arm anxiously, but didn't let Bass drive him away. "Could've used your help with this last round," he said, kicking at a hunk of concrete.

"Yeah, well. When Wily wouldn't give me that stupid double-gear— whatever. I just didn't feel like getting involved one way or another."

For a few moments neither said anything.

"You know, with Dr. Wily in jail," Rock started, "you… I… you don't… what I mean is…"

"He'll bust out sooner or later. It's only a matter of time and you know it."

"Yeah but you don't _have_ to—"

Bass scowled.

"Let me stop you right there. Proto Dweeb is always trying to pressure me with that crap, too. I've told him over and over, I'm not ditching Wily. I mean, I ditch him all the time, but— not, like… forever." He leaned forward to grab a piece of the rubble, and then flung it, watching as it shattered against a partially collapsed wall. "He built me. He may be a jerkwad, but he's still my dad."

Shifting, Rock looked away, then back up. "You deserve better."

That went ignored. "The stupid part is, he'll never be happy no matter what I do. The only thing he wants is for me to destroy you. I want— I'm _going_ to beat you, just y'know, to prove I can. But I'm not going to… I wouldn't… anyway, Wily doesn't care if I'm the strongest or the best or anything. He just cares if you're dead or not. And I'm stuck. Just— stuck."

"If there's anything—" he paused, then changed his mind. "I'm sorry." Rock found himself focusing less on what Bass said, and more on the things that had gone _unsaid._ Hesitant, he asked, "Do you… do you like me?"

"No."

Rock's face fell. But then Bass grabbed him, tilting his head to the side, before leaning forward and kissing him. His actions were aggressive but clumsy, the stolen kiss uncertain, almost _timid._ The whole thing was pretty awkward, but Rock was stunned anyway. He drew back in surprise, fingers brushing against his lips.

"That was stupid. _Crap!_ That was really, unbelievably stupid." Stepping back, Bass ran his hands through his hair and tried to gather his wits. "Ugggghhh, that was a mistake."

Only there was no taking it back now. Rock, not sure how to convince him it wasn't, did the first thing that came to mind: he threw his arms around Bass' neck, planting a quick, chaste kiss on his cheek, then another on his nose, and a third on his chin, before going in for a decidedly less chaste kiss on the lips. Rock's attempt was every bit as fumbling and inept as Bass' had been.

…but it worked. Bass' look of distress and confusion changed to one of relief.

"This is a disaster! What're we going to do?"

With a giddy laugh, Rock shook his head. "No idea. But we'll figure it out."


	7. The More Things Stay the Same

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BassRock week: _May 17 - Amends_

With every passing year, each wild plot for world domination, each day heroically saved, they fell into a routine. Going through the motions. Keeping up appearances.

"This time I'll show you! I'm the strongest robot there is!"

"We don't have to do this! I don't want to fight you!"

The same old song and dance. For who, exactly— for themselves?

For their creators?

Dr. Light knew. He'd been concerned about this… whatever it was they had. But by then, Bass had a long enough history of 'doing the right thing' (or some approximation of it), and so Dr. Light held his tongue. He reassured Rock that he loved him no matter what, and he could always come to him for anything— anything _at all._

Dr. Wily didn't know. Well, he probably did. But he never said anything, and neither did Bass, and they both went on acting like his rivalry with Mega Man was still nothing more than an ongoing competition.

Each time they fought, it was a little less intense and a little less real. Not to say either of them held back, it was more like…

…they'd changed over from actual brawling to a choreographed performance. Moves intended to be flashy, to entertain, to _show off._

Over time Mega Man stopped feeling so frustrated about having to fight Bass. And as much as he hated faking it, Bass seemed to do better with the fact that his losses were staged. He hadn't _really_ been beaten, no, they'd thrown the fight. Afterwards, Mega Man would try to soothe his ego further by complimenting on some impressive-looking 'attack' he'd made.

The more things stayed the same, as it turned out, the more they changed.

It was surprisingly easy to find time to be alone together. Proto Man was kind enough to help Bass dupe Wily's tracking transmitter, so they didn't have to worry about the villain spying in on them. Sometimes they'd dress casually and head into the city, other times they hung out at Light Labs— the residential section only (Dr. Light was understanding but not taking any chances). Then, there were days they'd go to some secluded spot that Proto Man had taken them to before.

Today was an exceptionally nice day out, and the quiet lakeside was nothing short of perfect.

Rock chose the best pebbles, broad and flat, the right shape and the right weight. He expertly slung them so that they skipped over the surface of the water for yards on end, leaving a series of ripples slowly expanding outwards. Bass just nabbed whatever stones were closest, and aggressively hurled them into the lake, as if his only goal was to get the loudest, biggest splash possible.

"You're supposed to throw them at an angle," Rock said. "Otherwise they won't skip."

"Psh. That's your thing, I don't give a crap." He chucked another stone. "Stupid lake."

With a mischievous grin, Rock leaned over, throwing an arm over Bass' shoulders and going in for a kiss. "You're getting better at this," he teased.

"Yeah," Bass replied with a shrug. "I was practicing."

He pulled away, equal parts amused and surprised. " _Practicing?_ Wh— how?"

Bass grew a little sheepish at that point, realizing too late that maybe he didn't want Rock to know about this. "Well… you know…" He was keenly aware just how bad he was at mushy romantic things like kissing. He'd never been interested in ' _sexy stuff_ ' and struggled with the most basic displays of affection…

…but it was important to Rock, and which made it important to him. Bass wasn't actually opposed to any of it, so the need to be the best kicked in, and that had taken him some strange places.

"I figured Quint was you from another timeline, so—"

"Quint!?" Rock burst into laughter. Just what had Bass gotten himself into? What he wouldn't give to have been a fly on the wall when that happened.

Bass scowled, and Rock did his best to compose himself.

"He's not you, by the way. He's just programmed to think that."

"How do you know?"

"'Cause. I could tell."

A quizzical look crept across Rock's features, and he tilted his head slightly. "…when you smooched him?"

"Yeah."

"Aww."

He was tickled by the fact that despite how much trouble Bass had with intimacy, they were close enough now that he could tell the difference between kissing Rock and a duplicate. Bass, on the other hand, was confused by how Rock could possibly find that charming.

"A-anyway. I beat him up after, so he thinks it was some kinda weird prank or something." He paused, then shook his head. "It didn't work with Copy Bot, though. That got pretty weird." 

"Wait, you made out with Copy Bot too?"

"It wasn't— I told you! It was _practice!_ "

Rock started laughing again. "Weird how, exactly?"

"Ugh." Bass hid his face in his hands. "Man, I don't wanna talk about it."

Words had been exchanged. Copy had called him a 'tease', and he'd had to ask Proto Man what that meant. To make matters worse, Copy acted strange around him ever since, so Bass now found himself avoiding the other Wily 'bot. All around it was a humiliating mess that he genuinely regretted.

Still chuckling, Rock pulled him into an embrace. "Okay." Then he flopped onto the ground, pulling Bass down with him.

They laid there in silence for a while, Rock stretched out on his back, absently twirling a lock of Bass' hair between his fingers; Bass resting his head on Rock's chest and hand on his waist.

"Sorry."

Rock lifted his head slightly, glancing down at Bass. "Huh? For what?"

"For… for pretending to be your friend."

"I— what? What are you talking about?"

"Way back, when we first met. I pretended to be your friend and then betrayed you."

For a few moments Rock was stunned silent. "Oh. Well. Uh, th-thanks? I forgave you a long time ago. You know that, right?"

"I know, but…" If there was one thing Bass was all too familiar with, it was betrayal. Heaven only knows how many times he and Wily had stabbed each other in the back. Deceit, on the other hand? "I don't like— being fake like that." He still didn't care for it, with their pretend fights, going through the motions… but _that_ — that he'd do forever if he had to. "It was Wily's plan and it worked, but it never sat right with me, yeah? Even when we were still like enemies for real." Bracing himself on one arm, he sat up just enough to look Rock in the eyes. "I, I couldn't apologize before, 'cause… uh…"

Grinning, Rock grabbed Bass by the shoulders and pulled him back towards him, planting a quick kiss on his forehead. "Because you were too proud?" Then he laughed. "You're cute when you're embarrassed."

"Sh-shut up." Despite the weak protest, he buried his face in the crook between Rock’s neck and shoulder.

They stayed there the rest of the afternoon, Rock wishing it could always be like this, and Bass wondering how much time they had before things went wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is loosely a sequel to “Precipitation”. Skipping stones by the lake was definitely inspired by Lou's perfect [fanart](https://wave-man.tumblr.com/post/616220233405988864/i-want-them-to-have-that).
> 
> What about self-deception, huh, Bass?


	8. maybe we don't deserve love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Warning:** Major Character Death  
> BassRock week: _May 18 - End_

I don't want to post this short (282 word) entry here and have to flag the entire collection with 'Major Character Death'. Instead, I'm including links where you can read this chapter on:

[Tumblr](https://quietlydiabolic.tumblr.com/post/618495123427409920/maybe-we-dont-deserve-love-bassrock-ficlet)

or

[FFN](https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13582929/8/It-s-a-Fine-Line-Between)


	9. Botanical

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanahaki skit  
> BassRock Week: _May 19 - Chef's Choice_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this skit previously for [fanart](https://kosei-on.tumblr.com/post/189618759635) posted by Kosei. But I’m pretty sure only three people saw it, so it’s being recycled for BassRock week’s wildcard day.

**Bass:** *trying to act cool* Hey Wily. What’s it mean when someone’s barfin’ up flowers? That’s weird, right?  
**Wily:**  
**Wily:** Oh for [redacted]’s sake.  
**Bass:** What?  
**Wily:** Who is it?  
**Bass:** Who is _what?_  
**Wily:** Who do you have a crush on?  
**Bass:** !!?? I don’t have a crush on anyone! What the heck are you talking about!?  
**Wily:** *exasperated sigh* It means you’re in love with someone who doesn’t love you back.  
**Bass:** …  
**Bass:** Pffffftttttt ha ha that’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. *crying laughing* Ah hah hah! Ah man, you almost had me there. *walks off, still chuckling*

—

 **Bass:** DIE, Mega Man!  
**Rock:** I don’t want to fight you! There must be another way!  
**Bass:** The other way is instead of blasting you to bits with my cannon, I _smash your head in with_ —! *huuuurrrkkkk*  
**Rock:** *horrified* Oh! Oh no, are you okay?? What’s wrong?  
**Bass:** Nothing’s wrong, doofus! I'm— *hggglrk* *gakk* *ptoo*  
**Rock:** *growing increasingly distressed* Oh no! Oh gosh!

—

 **Rock:** I wish I knew what was wrong with Bass, so we could help him…  
**Blues:** *facepalm*

—

 **Blues:** Listen—  
**Bass:** Ugh. Get lost. I'm—  
**Bass:**  
**Bass:** Well it’s not like I’m sick or anything, ‘cause I’ve never been sick a day in my life, but I just don’t feel like putting up with your crap right now.  
**Blues:** *sigh* Bass, do you even know what hanahaki disease is?  
**Bass:** *he does not* Psh, yeah of course I do! I’m not _stupid_.  
**Blues:** *facepalm*

—

 **Rock:** Please stop shooting at me… *dodges plasma shot* Bass, my brother says—  
**Bass:** Your brother is a brain-dead moron who doesn’t know his butt from a hole in the ground.  
**Rock:** —that you’re sick because—  
**Bass:** And _you_ are a drooling, [slur redacted] numbskull who—  
**Bass:** *collapses to his knees and is _violently ill_ *  
**Rock:** 😨  
**Rock:** *walks over and starts patting Bass on the back* Ohh. It’ll be okay. …So yeah, Blues was saying that—  
**Bass:** *weakly raises his arm and shoots Rock in the face*  
**Rock:** OH _COME ON!_

—

 **Rock:** *has gone to Skull Fortress and is talking to Wily* —and Blues says that’s why—  
**Wily:** *looks utterly and thoroughly disgusted, but for whatever reason is hearing him out*  
**Bass:** *walks into the room, notices Rock* Dammit! What are you doing h—!?  
**Bass:** *hkk* *has obviously thrown up in his mouth and is trying to choke it back down*  
**Rock:** Um, Bass… er… do… do you have a crush on me?  
**Bass:** *spits out flowers and blood* Ugh! HECK NO! I’m so disgusted by you, it makes me puke just seeing your dumb chipmunk-looking face! I hate— *hurk* I hate yuuh— *hlorf* I— *gllrk*  
**Rock:** *whispering to Wily* I think he likes me.  
**Wily:** *groans and buries his head in his hands*

—

 **Wily:** Alright, I’m in. What’s the plan?  
*Blues and Rock exchange glances*  
**Blues:** Didn’t you build Bass to kill Mega Man?  
**Wily:** *sigh* Yes, but it’s obvious that’s not happening, and I’m getting sick and tired of cleaning up flower vomit all the time.

—

 **Rock:** Please! If you don’t let me love you, you’re going to die!  
**Bass:** _N E V E R!_

_Instead of the hanahaki sufferer trying to convince his crush to love him, the crush, friends, and family, go to increasingly ridiculous and convoluted lengths in an effort to get him to admit his feelings and let his crush take him on a date before he drops dead._

_(Spoiler alert: he dies.)_


	10. Discordance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BassRock Week: _May 19 - Chef's Choice_

They fought each other. They fought side by side. Mega Man never knew what to expect with Bass. He stormed into the lab, having had _quite enough_ this time, and yanked off his helmet before recalling his casual wear.

"Ugh! Who does he think he is, anyway!?"

He continued stomping through the house, into the living room, where he sat down hard on the couch.

Roll followed him and took his hand in her own. "Are you okay, Rock?"

"I'm fine. It's… it's fine. Actually, that battle was a piece of cake. I kinda feel like— when we're working together, me and Bass are pretty much invincible. But then we get through the worst of it as a team, and then… he still wants to fight me? What's _the point?_ What— just what is he even trying to prove!?"

Mega Man glared a the floor for a moment, then shook his head.

"He thinks he's this real hotshot, with his ridiculous helmet and fancy armor and cute— uh, but he— he's really just a mean jerk. And a dork! He's always calling me a dork, but he's the one that's such an— an… insecure… pig-headed… loud-mouthed… jackass!"

"Language, Rock," Dr. Light said gently.

"I'm sorry Dr. Light."

Roll gingerly sat down on the armrest, putting her free arm across her brother's shoulders.

"It'll be okay," she said. "He can't hate you forever, no one can. You're just too loveable."

At that, he laughed. "Thanks Roll."

Dr. Light smiled as he watched the two, and then scratched his beard, lost in thought. 'Cute'?

…A topic for some other time, perhaps.


End file.
